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The 30 most overcrowded prisons in England and Wales are twice as likely to be rated as failing by the prison service compared with prisons overall, a new analysis published with the latest annual edition of the Prison Reform Trust’s Bromley Briefings Prison Factfile, kindly supported by the Bromley Trust, reveals.

The new analysis of Ministry of Justice prison population and prison performance ratings by the Prison Reform Trust suggests that overcrowding is undermining the resilience of establishments and their ability to maintain safety and decency in the face of steep cuts to staffing and resources.

It also shows that the top three most overcrowded prisons are all rated as “of concern” while five of the six prisons rated “of serious concern” by the prison service are overcrowded. A full analysis of prisons by performance and overcrowding levels is below.

At the end of October 2016, 77 of the 117 prisons in England and Wales were overcrowded. Overcrowded prisons hold 10,442 more people than for which they were designed. Because people have to double up in cells to accommodate additional numbers, this means that over 20,000 people—nearly one quarter of the prison population—still share cells designed for fewer occupants, often eating their meals in the same space as the toilet they share.

The prison system as a whole has been overcrowded in every year since 1994, largely driven by a rising prison population which has nearly doubled in the past two decades and now stands at 85,000. The government’s white paper on prison safety and reform holds out the ambition for a “less crowded” estate but contains little by way of concrete proposals to achieve that aim. In his evidence to the Justice Committee last week, the chief executive of the prison service Michael Spurr said that overcrowding would not be resolved in this, or the next Parliament.

The Prison Reform Trust’s analysis shows a correlation between levels of overcrowding and prison performance. In the past three years, the proportion of prisons rated “of concern” or “of serious concern” by the prison service has doubled and the number now stands at 31 establishments. The number of prisons rated “exceptional” has plummeted from 43 in 2011–12 to only eight in 2015–16.

The Prison Reform Trust’s analysis reveals that:

The 30 most overcrowded prisons are twice as likely to be failing compared with prisons overall. Half (15) of the top 30 most overcrowded prisons are rated “of concern” or “of serious concern”. This compares to just over one quarter (31) of the 117 prisons in England and Wales rated as “of concern” or “of serious concern”.

The top three most overcrowded prisons are all rated as “of concern”. The most overcrowded prison in England and Wales is Leeds. Designed to hold 669 men, it now holds 1,145. Second is Swansea (built to hold 268 men, it holds 456) and third is Wandsworth (built for 943, it holds 1,564). All are rated as “of concern”.

Five of the six prisons rated “of serious concern” by the prison service are overcrowded. The six prisons rated as “of serious concern” are Doncaster, Bristol, Isis, Hewell, Wormwood Scrubs and Liverpool. Only Liverpool is currently operating below uncrowded capacity.

Only one of the eight prisons—Whatton—rated as having “exceptional performance” is overcrowded.

Overcrowding can affect the performance of prisons in a number of ways. It can impact on whether activities, staff and other resources are available to reduce the risk of reoffending. Inspections regularly find a third or more of prisoners unoccupied during the working day because a prison holds more people than it should. Overcrowding makes it more likely that basic human needs will be neglected with key parts of the prison—showers, kitchens, health care centres, gyms—facing a higher demand than they were designed for.

Overcrowding also has a significant impact on where prisoners are held and their ability to progress in their sentences. Every day prisoners are bussed around the country to remote locations just to make sure that every last bed space is filled. Prisoners progressing well are suddenly told they must move on, regardless of their sentence plan or where their family and loved ones live.

"We are used to dreadful inspection reports about dilapidated, overcrowded Victorian prisons. HMP Hindley is none of these things, and this damning verdict is all the more troubling as a result. It shows that a lack of decency will undermine a prison, regardless of its physical condition and facilities. The Chief Inspector is right to make this a test of the government's ability to respond swiftly and effectively when a prison is failing."

Commenting on the publication of an open letter today (16 November) by Rt Hon. David Lammy MP to update the Prime Minister on his review's emerging findings, Director of the Prison Reform Trust, Peter Dawson said:

"Theresa May was right to highlight in her first speech as Prime Minister that being black means harsher treatment in the criminal justice system. David Lammy's interim report to her sheds important new light on exactly where that unfairness occurs. The statistical evidence is shocking. But it also shows where the review can now concentrate its investigation to understand why discrimination happens and what needs to be done to stop it."

Commenting on the HM Inspectorate of Prisons thematic report on Children in Custody 2015–16: an analysis of 12 to 18-year-olds’ perceptions of their experience in secure training centres and young offender institutions, Peter Dawson, Director of the Prison Reform Trust, said:

“This worrying annual survey shows why the government was right to ask Charlie Taylor to conduct a fundamental review of how we look after the children we still send to prison. But it also shows why a response to that report, completed 5 months ago, is badly overdue as the situation gets worse not better. Investing in these young damaged lives can only pay dividends for the future - the warning signs of further delay could not be any clearer.”

“The time for aspirational rhetoric on prisons is over. We expect a White Paper that promises concrete standards, approved by Parliament, against which the Government must deliver, and a boost in resources to make that possible. All of that will be welcome. But the legacy is twenty five years of political failure to grip prison inflation and chronic overcrowding. Liz Truss will have to overturn that inheritance, and urgently reduce the demand for prison places, to make her plan work.”